Friday, March 10, 2017

Habit Replacement




I am trying to replace a bad habit of night time snacking while parked in front of a screen.  I nibble stuff I do not even like, when I am not even hungry.  Mindlessly eating away while watching a movie or reading favorite blogs.

 I have been taking up mending or hand sewing projects while on the sofa watching TV.  I know I can also do squats or sit ups if I'm feeling perkier.  That hasn't happened yet. Sometimes, I just want to see and absorb a film or documentary, rather than multitasking.  In that case, I brew a cup of herbal tea and cup it in my hands and sip.

 At the computer, it is difficult to be "busy" while one hand is clicking away. (Ushering away an unpleasant mental image flitting through.) Last night it occurred to me to bake bread.  I winged it.

 I sliced a thin patty of raw yeast, crumbled it into warm sugar water, incorporated as much flour--one cup at a time-- as would comfortably fit to make a nice dough. I took my bowl in front of the computer and kneaded away with my left hand, until the dough was elastic.  I let it rest in an oven that was slightly warm.  Our apartment is rather cool, so that helped. I was not expecting much, after my slapdash method of not using an exact recipe.  Thought if nothing else maybe I'd be baking a flat bread. I rubbed it with oil. It doubled up.  I punched it down and subdivided into smaller sections (so they would bake up faster, as it was getting late).  Kneaded each again, formed into rounds, let rise again, and baked.  Tap, tap, sounded hollow. Done.

Of course the little breads smelled very good. Of course I was hungry.  And of course, I mindfully enjoyed the smallest one with a bit of butter.


2 comments:

Jessica@CapeofDreams said...

There is nothing better than fresh bread!

tess said...

Agreed!